The charisma of La Coruña

November 2nd, 2012

“La Coruña is one long sea front,” said my taxi driver as we rounded the headland towards Riazor, the huge urban beach that is the major natural feature of this northern Spanish city. On the sand, surfers were polishing their boards and pale-skinned families, enjoying the sudden Atlantic summer, were energetically doing what families do on beaches.

From my hotel, I could see the crouching form of Riazor stadium, home of Deportivo La Coruña (“el Depor”) and one of Spain’s cathedrals of football. And at the end of the beach, the new Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Muncyt), glittering in the afternoon sun. The museum, opened in May, is a masterpiece of take-no-prisoners modernism by architects Victoria Acebo and Angel Alonso, and the city’s most talked-about new attraction. Outwardly it is a stunning concatenation of glass and concrete; inwardly, it’s an engaging attempt to make Spain feel good about its technological heritage.